Civic leader and philanthropist Nina Rodale Houghton died peacefully at her home in Chestertown, Maryland after a brief illness early this morning. She was a long-tenured Visitor and Governor of Washington College.

Ms. Houghton became a resident of Maryland following her marriage in 1972 to Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Her first association with Maryland’s educational institutions came with her appointment as Trustee of Wye Institute in 1973. In time, she enjoyed further appointments as Trustee of Goucher College, board member of the Columbus Center in Baltimore, advisory group member to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, member of the Board of Visitors to Johns Hopkins Medicine and member of the Board of Visitors of University of Maryland College Park, and Trustee of the Aspen Institute.

In 1999 she co-chaired an effort sponsored by the University of Maryland called Agriculture and Natural Resources Research: Seeking Common Ground which has led to the formation of the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology. She was a member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland.

Funeral services will be announced at a later date.